For 2017, the award winners include 38 new Five-Star hotels, 75 new Four-Star hotels and 85 new hotels in the Recommended category. Other first-time recipients include seven Five-Star restaurants, 16 Four-Star restaurants and 21 Recommend restaurants. The list also honors nine new Five-Star spas and 35 new Four-Star spas. See the complete list of winners here.

"This year's Star-Rated properties -- the largest and most global group in the company's history -- achieved an impeccable standard of excellence in hospitality, underscoring our overall mission of positively contributing to the international tourism industry as well as the individual hotel experience," said Gerard J. Inzerillo, Chief Executive Officer of Forbes Travel Guide. "We are excited to recognize the 2017 Star Rating recipients, an exceptional collection of hotels, restaurants and spas with a strong culture of service. In an online environment of confusion and clutter, Forbes Travel Guide is the most trusted source of information to assist guests in making informed decisions," Inzerillo said. "We are proud to congratulate everyone associated with the prestigious properties recognized today."

To celebrate this year's award, Star-Rated winners are invited to the Forbes Travel Guide All-Star Celebration in New York City on March 2. Attendees will enjoy a mouth-watering selection of dishes prepared by award-winning chefs and legends of the international culinary world, including: Jose Garces, Amada; Christian Pratsch, Asiate; Daniel Boulud, Daniel; Mario Batali and Joe and Lidia Bastianich, Del Posto; Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Jean-Georges; Geoffrey Zakarian, The Lambs Club; and Michael White, Vaucluse.

HIGHLIGHTS, TRENDS & FUN FACTS FOR 2017

Just the Numbers

Among the total 1,463 winners, there are 175 Five-Star, 477 Four-Star and 239 Recommended hotels.

In the spas category, a total of 56 Five-Star and 207 Four-Star spots achieved awards.

Beauty in Diversity

While the 2017 group of winners is the most diverse in terms of size, location and style, one overarching theme that ties them together is that each delivers its own distinctive experience. New Five-Star hotels range from the brand-new fresh and inventive Faena Hotel Miami Beach and the recently restored grand dame Ritz Paris to over-the-top all-suite hotel The Ritz-Carlton, Macau. Boutique hotels also made a strong Five-Star showing, including Cabo San Lucas' 87-room The Resort at Pedregal, London's 30-room Hotel 41 and Rome's 14-suite Portrait Roma.

Forbes Travel Guide is the originator of the prestigious Five-Star Rating system, and has provided the travel industry's most comprehensive ratings and reviews of hotels, restaurants and spas since 1958. Forbes Travel Guide has a team of expert inspectors who anonymously evaluate properties against up to 800 rigorous and objective standards, providing consumers the insight to make better-informed travel and leisure decisions. Forbes Travel Guide is the most prestigious standard for luxury hospitality worldwide. For more information about Forbes Travel Guide, visit www.forbestravelguide.com.